Greg Marquis’s new book, Truth and Honour: The Death of Richard Oland and the Trial of Dennis Oland, promises much but delivers less than much.

The book jacket blurb titillatingly hints at revelations to come, stating that the book offers “multiple perspectives and analysis,” and that “Marquis meticulously explores the ultimate question, was Dennis Oland responsible for his father's death.” The last chapter of the book is even provocatively entitled A Wrongful Conviction? Alas, you’ll never know from reading Truth and Honour.

Marquis competently and thoroughly explores all aspects of the grisly murder of one of New Brunswick’s richest and most high-profile citizens, and offers a nuanced presentation of a case that devastated and captivated the province. However, he leaves it to readers to draw their own conclusions.

He diligently records how 69-year-old millionaire businessman Richard Oland died in a horrific after-hours assault at his office on a hot evening on July 6, 2011. His son, then 44, was the only suspect from day one of the police investigation — largely because he was the last known person to see his father alive. The Crown pointed to money problems as motive. Dennis and his wife Lisa’s finances were in a poor state at the time and he was suspected of having gone to his father to ask for money. Turned down, he lost it and bludgeoned daddy to death.

Still, there were doubts it was a provable case cobbled together by the police and Crown. Dennis Oland, charged with second-degree murder, wasn’t arrested until November 2013 and was tried and convicted in the fall of 2015. Until Richard’s murder, the Olands had not known scandal. Moosehead Breweries was a respected employer. Its owners were pillars of the community and known for outstanding public service. Richard’s older brother Derek, head of the family's global empire, is paying for his nephew’s defence.

Marquis professes surprise at the outcome of the trial. Born and raised in Saint John, a seasoned courtroom observer and law professor at the University of New Brunswick, he said he was “thunderstruck” by a guilty verdict. He was preparing to write a book with an ending by acquittal. “I thought of a finding of not guilty” he told CTV news in an interview on the day of the decision.

The weak circumstantial evidence presented during the three-month trial followed by the judge’s 200-page, two-day cautionary address to the jury had led him to think the case against Oland was one of reasonable doubt, he said.

On the morning of Dec. 19, as they waited for the jurors to come in, “I'd never seen the courtroom so silent,” he said, adding he had “a feeling of foreboding.” As the jury foreman announced the verdict, a burst of sorrow enveloped the court. Oland collapsed, wailing loudly. His wife, Lisa, shouted, “How could you do this?”

“Women were overcome.” Marquis said. “It was hard to hear the judge. It was one of the few signs of emotion at this trial.”

Oland’s trial was the most publicized in New Brunswick history. What the trial judge called a “a family tragedy of Shakespearean proportions” gave Saint John an up-close look at what it’s like to be the one per cent. Marquis concludes that, light on any direct evidence to link Oland to the crime, the Crown instead served up a heady cocktail of Richard’s lavish lifestyle, world travel, yacht races, and a blonde mistress stirred with family dysfunction, garnished with a missing murder weapon and no witnesses.

Marquis, who teaches Canadian criminal justice history at the University of New Brunswick, leads readers through the case, from the discovery of the body to the conviction and sentencing of the defendant. Oland had a dream team of expensive defence lawyers that he compares to the O.J. Simpson trial, except for the ending. The spectacle that ended just before last Christmas shocked and divided the Saint John community.

Versed in case law and comparable cases in New Brunswick and across Canada, Marquis puts the Oland case in context and makes it readable by peppering his narrative with quotes from the media coverage as he explores the question: Was Dennis Oland responsible for the death of his father?

The book is a compendium of most, if not all, of the evidence presented to the court in the preliminary hearing and in the trial. Marquis’s linear account details allegations of police incompetence with investigations ongoing. Embarrassing revelations by the judge were that one officer, not assigned to the investigation, walked through the crime scene twice in civilian clothes, hung about for several hours and then asked a fellow officer to cover him by lying about it. He says minimum standards involving the inspection and protection of blood and spatter evidence were lax at best, including repeated failure by officers to wear gloves when examining the scene and handling exhibits. The bathroom at Far End Corp. at 52 Canterbury St. was used by police for two days before it was swabbed for evidence.

In a Sept. 26 morning interview with Global TV to discuss Truth and Honour upon its release, he qualified his indecision about the verdict, saying, “I do not come down on either side. I want the reader to engage . . . think about what they think about the case.”

This is not necessarily a good thing. Marquis sat through the entire trial and sifted through hundreds of articles in preparing the book. He is in a much better position to draw a conclusion than the reader. A subsequent interview, organized by Nimbus Publishing with the Chronicle Herald, was cancelled without explanation. Plans were also cancelled for an excerpt to be published in the newspaper. His publisher said that Marquis will be doing no more interviews about the book or the case — highly unusual for a new book.

Sentenced in February 2016 to life in prison, Oland is serving 10 years without parole. The Oland family and their friends, a large part of their Rothesay community, turned out to protest the conviction in large numbers and showered the Crown with letters maintaining Dennis Oland is a man of good character and he is innocent.

The conviction is being appealed and is scheduled in the Appeal Court of New Brunswick for Oct. 18-21. Two attempts to get Dennis Oland out on bail have failed and a third attempt is set to be heard before the Supreme Court on Oct. 31.

Asked by Global TV why the book is out now, before the Oland story is over, Marquis said his publisher wanted the book out “for the fall” and he has to get back to his “day job.” All said, if you missed the press coverage of the case and want to find out what the fuss is about, Truth and Honour will serve you well.